Block-making machine.



H. H. PIERCE.

BLOCK MAKING MACHINE.

AIPLIOATION FILED JAN. 10, 1911 1,038,646., 1 Patented Sept. 17,1912.

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H. H. PIERCE. BLOCK MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 1911.

Patented Sept. 17, 1912.

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HARRY H. PIERCE, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

BLOCK-MAKING- MAGHIN E.

Specification of Letters IPatent. Patented Sept. 17,1912.

Application filed January 10, 1911. Serial No. 601,816.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, HARRY H. PIERCE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Block-MakingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for making gypsite-tile, wetprocess, such as are commonly used in the construction of interiorpartitions, walls and floors in office and other buildings; and theobject of the invention is to provide an inexpensive and portable pressor machine which will be simple and eflicient, and capable of suchoperative speed as to be of great commercial value. I accomplish thisobject by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying;

drawings, in which Figure 1, is a viewin front elevation of my machinein closed position. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of same, showing amoldingboX closed in full lines and open in dotted lines. Fig. 3, is aperspective view of a finished block. Fig. 4, is a vertical section onthe line 44 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5, is a view similar to Fig. 4, except thatthe moldingbox is open and the core-mold is shown in its loweredposition, and Fig. 6, is an interior view, in elevation, of the walls ofthe molding-box in open position.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews of the drawings.

7 represents the finished block-product of my machine. It has thevertical interior openings 8 and the external channeledsides 9 and 10.The shape, thickness, and general size of the block may be varied tosuit the requirements of the wall for which the block is to be used, andwith my machine the directions of the channels on the sides of the blockmay be varied from horizontal to vertical, or this roughening, which isto increase the adhesion of a finishing coat of plaster applied afterthe blocks are all laid, may be in different designs or patterns.

11 is a table upon which the hinged sides of the molding-box aremounted. 12 is a base board adapted to rest upon the ground or floorwhere the molding is being done, and 13 are vertical standards whichsupport the table 11 from said base.

The molding-box comprises a rear member 14, having an inwardly obliquelower the front member 17.

end hinged to the table 11, ends 15 and 16 hinged at their rear verticaledges to the corresponding adjacent edges of the back 14, and a frontmember 17, having its adjacent vertical edge hinged to the frontvertical edge of the end member 15. The front edge of the end 16 has ahook 18, to engage a latch-bar 19, which is pivotally secured to Thelatch-bar 19 has a notch 20 (see Fig. 1) in its lower edge to receivethe hook 18 and hold the end 16 from movement longitudinally of the bar19.

The space inclosed by the four members 14:, 15, 16 and 17, when thelatter are together, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, is where the blocks7 are formed. The said four parts comprise the sides of a mold which isopen at the top for the introduction of the bloclofo-rming material, andis closed below by a removable bottom 22, which is introduced through asuitable opening 23, provided for that purpose through the table 11. Thebottom 22 extends up into the space inclosed by said sides and ends, asuitable distance to insure a good closure, as'shown in Fig. 4, and asregulated by the flanges 24, which form stops by contact against thelower sides of the table 11.

Supported by the removable bottom 22, are the cores 26, here shown asthree in number, and as rectangular and substantially square in crosssection, but the number, size, and shape may be varied without departingfrom the spirit of this invention. Each of the said cores has asufficient taper from bottom to top to cause it to loosen and withdrawreadily when the bottom 22 is lowered, as shown in Fig. 5.

A proper vertical movement of the, block which forms the bottom orclosure 29 of the molding-box, is insured by a guideboard 28, upon theupper end of which the bottom 22 is mounted in a fixed manner, and thevertical edges of whichboard 28 enter vertical channels 29, formed inthe standards 13.

The vertical movement of bottom 22 to close the lower end of themolding-box and place the cores 26, or to lower the cores, isaccomplished by a pair of cam-levers 30, pivoted at 31 to the standards13, each cam head having a pair of metal straps 32 and 38 wrapped inopposite directions upon the peripheries of said heads and fastened atopposite ends to the cam-head and guideboard 28, respectively. The upperstrap 32' has one end fastened to its cam-head and the other end to thelower end of the board 28. The lower strap 33 has one of its endsfastened. to "its ca1n;hea:d and the'other end fastened to the near sideof board 28 near the .top of the latter. By rocking the camheads theconnectionof the straps with the.

board 28 will cause the latter to be 'correspondingly raised andlowered. A uni:

7 form movement of the cam-levers is insured by joiningtheir outer endsby means of a transverse bar 34 and upper bar 35. The latter willpreferably be of'iron to weightthe outer ends of the levers andcounterbalance the board 28, block '22 and cores 26.

It also forms a bearing for theoperators footin holding the cores up inright position while a block" is being molded.

In Order to steady the upper ends of the v cores 26, which are supportedby the block 22'forming the bottom of the molding box,

and. to insure a uniform and proper spacing all around between the coresand moldingbox walls, I provide a rod 38, one end of d which is hingedto the member 14: of-the V of the middle core in the manner just described is sufiicient. V

The members 14, 15, 16, and 17 willpreferably be formed or built up outof a plu- 'ralityj of thinner wooden boards with the grain of the woodcrossed to prevent warp? ing and-to strengthen the structure, and thismaterial is thoroughly saturated with oil to resist the absorption ofmoisture. V,

Instead of channels 10 in thf sides of the block to receive and hold thefinishing coat of plaster on a wall, ribs or projections may be formed,which would answer the same purpose. .My machine lends itself well to achange in direction of these, by making the desired change in the innerfaces of the molding-box, as shownin Fig. 6. The advantage in havingthese channels horizontal on one side 'andvertical on the other'is thatby reversing the sides of the, blocks in ing a wall with them, theresulting surface to plaster against is correspondingly varied as to thedirection of its channels and this insures a more tenacious adherence orbind bet-weenthe plaster coat and theblockwall.

The height of the molding-boi; will depend uponthe length of block to bemade;

'the drawingshows a machine for making blocks of medium, length. v 7

post extending from the table 11 back of the molding-box to provide asupport for" the molding-box when it is opened out and turned back torelease a newly formed block.

The operation of my block molding machine is asfollows: The cam-leversare lowered to the positionshown in Fig. 4, and then the moldihgtb'xsides and ends are brought together or closed, in the manner shown inFigs, 1 2 ande, and are loeked by the engagement of 110 1118 by latchbaif 19, and the engagement of socket 39 of mid dlecore b'y" the hookedend of rod 38. The materialrrom which the block is tti be formed is thenintroduced thrtiugh the open top of the ihold into the spaees aroundcores. When the green block has sufficiently solidified to become selfsustaihing, the camv V levers will then be moved to the position shownin 5, which willlooseii tlie cores s6 nd partiallywithdrawthemgaewnwaauy, and lower the b ottem-f'orming block 22.

The members 14,15, 16, and 17 will next be unfastei'ied by disengagingthe lateh har r'rem hook s, and thereupon the vertical members ofthemolding-box win he opened or separated and the members, thrown back,

as shown in dotted lines in 2, with the back member leaning against thepost 40. This will cause the inner lower edge of the back 14 to projectslightly overthe' opening through the table 11, and the block: 7, (seeFig. 5), which has been supported up to this time by engagement with theribbed walls of the molding box, drops by gravity against the obliqueadjacent 1 face of the member i and is moved slightly forward of themachine, out 'o'f'alinement with the hole through the table, with theresult that the front edge or corner of the block will be arrested bycontact withthe table inunediately iii friint of; Sammie; and hemed; winbe supported by thetable instead of dropping through the 0 ening in thelatter. The bloek is tlieii 1i ed clear bf'the cores and dried in theusual mariner. As soohas the bloc'k is r amed fftim the machine the inter is to be closed and the above oper- I ations are repeated to form anew block.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim a's'Iiew and wishto secure by Letters Patent, -is- 1. A molding table having an opening,a

removable closure a working fit in said openlng, core pieces Cariled bysa d closure, cam-levers, means by the operation of said cams forraising and lowering. the

closure, a molding-box in folding hinged sections surrounding the holein the table andcore's and adapted to be opened to release the productof the machine and holding means from the box to the core adapted by thelowering of said closure and core to release the core.

' 2. A molding table, a vertically removable block, core pieces carriedby said block, a guide board depending from said block, cam-levers, apair of oppositely wrapped straps on each cam connecting it with saidguide board above and below the cam whereby the guide board may beraised or lowered by correspondingly rocking the cam, a molding-box inhinged-together sections surrounding the core pieces and adapted to beopened to release the product of the ma chine, means to hold the top ofa core-piece in position and to automatically release the core by thelowering of the core.

3. In a machine for molding building blocks, a molding-box in aplurality of hinged-together sections adapted to be opened out torelease the product of the machine, the oppositely disposed sides ofsaid box having formations in opposite directions for the two sides toproduce irregularities in the sides of the block product and means onthe back-section to move the block forward when said back-section isswung to the rear.

4. A molding table, a vertically removable block, core pieces carried bysaid block, one of said core pieces having a socket, a molding-boxsurrounding the core pieces and a centering and holding means comprisinga rod hinged at one end to the box and having a hook at its other end toengage the socket of a core piece.

5. A molding machine having an opening, a removable closure making aworking fit in said opening, core pieces carried by said closure, meansfor raising and lowering said closure and cores, and a molding-box infolding hinged sections surrounding the hole in the table and the coresadapted to be opened to release the product, the rear member being alsohinged at its lower end to the table and inwardly oblique at that end tocause its inner edge to project over the opening when the member isswung back.

6. A molding table having an opening, a removable closure making aworking fit in said opening, core pieces carried by said closure, meansfor raising and lowering said closure and cores, and a molding-box infolding hinged sections surrounding the hole in the table and the coresadapted to be opened to release the product, and means to move the lowerend of the block forward to rest on the table when the box is opened.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal atIndianapolis, Indiana, this, 5th day of January, A. D. one thousand ninehundred. and eleven.

HARRY H. PIERCE. [L.S.]

Witnesses:

L. B. WOERNER,

F W WOERNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

